(Ms) MIRRA SAVARA (PhD)

Contact Details; D2-605, Gagan Nulife, Kamshet, Maharashtra, 410405
Mobile: 9930731161
Email: mirra.savara@gmail.com

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Over 25 years experience in research, writing, teaching and communications
  • Experience with volunteers, social development, and community organizations
  • Conducted training programmes for corporate and educational institutions on health, gender, communications, team building, communications, etc
  • Able to relate to people at all levels of management and NGOs
  • Managed teams at Corporate, NGOs & Research, Educational Settings
  • Travelled all over the world and India

 

EDUCATION:

PhD, (1982) Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai
Premedical, (1971) Oregon State University, Oregon, USA
MA courses (1970), Counselling and psychology, University of Oregon, USA
B.A. (1969), Liberal Arts, (major psychology) Reed College, Oregon, USA
ISC (1965), Science, Cathedral School, Mumbai

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE     

  • As Head of Research of BBCWST, have coordinated research on communication effectiveness and conducted large scale quantitative research in 17 states
  • As Web Editor, have coordinated content, counselling, making quizzes, developing question banks, tests, online courses, site check and organized large data bases with browse and search criteria
  • Independently brought out a monthly magazine on social issues
  • Have coordinated large scale social research for NGO’s, foreign funding organizations, market research organizations
  • Have presented papers in over 30 national and international forums
  • Have published 4 books and over 25 research articles in books and journals
  • Writer and Photo Journalist…have published over 150 articles
  • Have organized and conducted training programmes workshops, conferences and promotional events
  • Taught at Symbiosis Inst. Of Mass Communications, Bharitya Vidhya Bhavan, Mumbai University, Reed College, USA, University of Oregon, USA
  • Conceptualized, directed, edited, script writing for three videos and for e courses
  • Conducted training programmes for corporates, NGO’s and schools/colleges

AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS

First Class First, ISC, 1965
Government of India Merit Scholarship, 1965
National Science Talent Search Scholar, Govt. of India, 1965
Reed College Scholarship, USA, 1965-69
National Science Foundation Scholar, USA, 1966-67
Indian Council of Social Science Research Fellow, 1977-80

 

CONSULTANCY / RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:

Consultant, Hansa Research, coordinating study on impact of communication intervention on HIV/AIDs on Worlds Aids Day, 2007 for John Hopkins University
Consultant, Gyan Vriksh Research Consultants, coordinating longitudinal impact study of educational programme for children on Television and experimental design to measure impact of communication
Consultant, Institute of Health Management, Documenting conference on Reproductive needs of Adolescent girls, and developing a Policy on HIV/AIDS for NGO’s and editorial assistance in various projects
Head of Research, BBC World Service Trust, Delhi: Formative research, Impact study in 17 states of HIV Communication, testing of ads on HIV
Vice-President. Metric Consultancy Ltd, Pune 2002-4, Head of Social Research and Qualitative research.
Research Study on Health and Sexual Behaviour in Maharashtra, through Shakti, funded by Ford Foundation (1992-96):
Case Study of Law for Prevention of Sex Determination Tests with Dr, Jana Everett, USA; involved interviewing activists, NGO’s, lawyers, doctors, government officials (1994)
Women and Organisations in the Informal Sector, Mumbai; funded by Ford Foundation, New Delhi. Study involved women from 5 occupations which had developed different organisations: a cooperative; women’s organisation; caste organisation, social work organisation and a union
Bank Loans to the Poor: Do Women Benefit: With Dr. Jana Everett; for America Institute for Indian Studies. Study involved evaluating social sector programmes of nationalised banks and making recommendations for increasing women’s access
Evaluation of Port Sudan Project: Part of a multi disciplinary international group to evaluate Programme for international funding organisation, ACCORD, UK. One month consultancy in Sudan, Africa

NGO EXPERIENCE:

SHAKTI, A Social Research Centre, Managing Trustee and Coordinator, 1986-present
Institute of Social Research and Education: Trustee, also Coordinator Feminist Resource Centre, 1977-84
Front for Rapid Economic Advancement of India, Training and evaluation coordinator for its Youth Involvement Programme which placed 150 professional college students in rural development projects all over India, also trustee

 

PUBLICATIONS AND BOOKS:

Changing Trends in Women’s Employment, a case study of the Textile Industry in Mumbai, Himalaya Publications, 1978
Courage in Living: Annapurna Women tell their Life Stories; Annapurna Mahila Mandal, Mumbai 1983 (co authored)
Women and Organisations in the Informal Sector in Mumbai, Himalaya Publishers, Mumbai, 1984 (Co authored)
In Search of Our Bodies : A Feminist Look at Women, Health and Reproduction in India; (Part of editorial Collective), Shakti, 1987
Between the Farm and Thali: Women and Food Processing, (Co-edited), SNDT Women’s University, 1990
Sex and the Indian Man– The Debonair Survey, (Co-authored), 1994

 

ARTICLES IN RESEARCH JOURNALS

Organising Women Housewives-workers, Institute of Development Studies Bulletin, UK, Vol. 12, No.3, 1981
Stirrings against oppression, EPW, Vol. 15, Issue No. 13, 29 Mar, 1980
Bank Loans to Lower Class women in Mumbai: Problems and prospects (co- authored), Economic and Political Weekly, M113-119, 1984
Sexual Behaviour of Urban Educated Indian Men, Journal of Family Welfare, Bombay, 1992
Sexuality and AIDS, Seminar, New Delhi 1992
Sexual Behaviour amongst Different occupational Groups in Maharashtra and the implications for AIDS education in the Indian Journal of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, 1994
Sexual Behaviour in Nasik and Thane in Radical Journal of Health, 1996